Year over Year: Borderstan Property Crime Took Dive in October
The number of crimes in October 2009 in the Borderstan crime reporting area¹ dropped substantially over the previous two Octobers, 2007 and 2008. The drop was due to a large, 42% decrease in the number of property crimes year over year for October. There were 7 violent crimes in October of this year, the same as October 2008 and down from 11 in October 2007.
This drop for last month is a remarkable turnaround from trends we have seen in the area in 2009–skyrocketing property crimes and increasing numbers of gun crimes (robberies and assaults in which a gun was used by the perpetrator). In fact, there were 0 of gun crimes in the Borderstan crime reporting in October of this year; this compares to 4 in October 2008 and 2 in October 2007.
A detailed narrative and chart are below the fold, along with links to earlier postings on Borderstan crime stats.
Previous Postings on Crime Stats
- Borderstan Crime: A Review of the Year’s First 9 Months
- September Crime Stats: More Property Crimes; Gun Crimes Up
- Last 60 Days in Borderstan: Crime Up 34% Over 2008, 41% Over 2007
- 2008 DC Crime Rate: Up or Down?
- Borderstan Crime Up 15% in August; 26% in 2 Months
- Borderstan: A Look at July Crime Rate, 2007-2009
- Borderstan: Violent Crime Up Slightly in July After June Dip
- May, June, YTD Crime Stats for “New” Borderstan
- YTD Borderstan Crime Up 21%; May Numbers Better
October: Year by Year
- 47 crimes in October 2007
- 59 crimes in October 2008 (26% increase from 2007)
- 37 crimes in October 2009 (37% decrease from 2008 and 21% decrease from 2007).
Historical numbers give you perspective on the crime-rate trend in the neighborhood. You can run crime statistics from the DC MPD online crime database for up to two years.
Total Crime
- There were 37 total crimes in the Borderstan crime area¹ in October 2009 compared to 59 in October 2008 and 47 in September 2007. Percentage-wise, crime was down 37% last month compared to October 2008 and 21% compared to October 2007.
Violent Crime
- There were 7 violent crimesin Borderstan in October of this year–the same as in October 2008 and down from the 11 in October 2007.
- The number of robberies (with and without a gun) declined slightly in October compared to last year: there were 6 robberies in October 2009 compared to 7 in 2008 and 10 in 2007.
- Gun crimes (robberies and assaults committed with a gun) are down: 2 in October 2007, 4 in October 2008 and 0 in October this year. This reverses a trend we have seen this year in Borderstan. While the total number of violent crimes usually remained steady or rose slightly, gun crimes were usually higher than in previous years. Not so for October.
- Assault with a dangerous weapon (with and without a gun): There was 1 assault in October 2009; there were 0 assaults in October 2007 and 2008.
Property Crime
- There were 30 property crimes in the area in October 2009, a 42% dropfrom the 52 property crimes in 2008, and a 17% decrease from the 36 property crimes in October 2007.
- Thefts from autos declined last month: 11 in October 2009 compared to 20 in 2008, a 45% drop. There were 7 thefts from autos in October 2007.
- Stolen autos: The number of stolen autos in October dropped dramatically from last year, from 9 in 2008 to 4 in October 2009–a 56% decrease. There were 7 stolen autos in October 2007.
- Burglaries: The number of burglaries in October has remained steady over the past three years: 3 in both 2007 and 2008 and 2 burglaries in October of this year.
- Thefts: The number of thefts in October dropped 35% from last year, a reversal of a pattern we have seen all year as the number of thefts in the area skyrocketed. There were 13 thefts in October 2009, down from 20 in October 2008; there were 19 thefts in October 2007.
Borderstan¹ Crime Stats for October 2007, 2008 & 2009
Crime Type |
October
|
October
|
October
|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sex Abuse | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery Excluding Gun | 8 | 3 | 6 |
| Robbery With Gun | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) Excluding Gun | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) With Gun | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Total Violent Crime
|
11 | 7 | 7 |
| Burglary | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Theft | 19 | 20 | 13 |
| Theft From Auto | 7 | 20 | 11 |
| Stolen Auto | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| Arson | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Property Crime |
36 | 52 | 30 |
Total Crime
|
47 | 59 | 37 |
¹ The Borderstan crime reporting area (see map above) covers a circular area that radiates 1,500 feet from 15th and Corcoran Streets NW–an area that runs from 13th Street/Logan Circle west to New Hampshire Avenue/half way between 17th and 18th Streets… and from Rhode Island Avenue/O Street in the south to T/Caroline Streets in the north. The Borderstan crime reporting area includes parts of Police Service Area (PSA) 208 (west of 15th) and PSA 307 (east of 15th), with a sliver of PSA 305 in the northeast.
